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Thunder 111, Jazz 85

Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka did a great job early of defending Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap. They contested extremely well without fouling and forced them into some difficult looks. And this time, for the most part, they finished possessions with rebounds. Thanks in large part to Perk and Ibaka, Jefferson and Millsap got off to an 0-for-7 start and never really found a rhythm. The defense by that duo set the tone, and the Thunder fed off of it the rest of the way to cruise to victory.

Jefferson finished with 15 points, going 7-for-19 from the field. Millsap had 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. They combined for just 13 rebounds. How impressive is that? Those two entered the night as Utah’s leading scorers, averaging a combined 35 points with 18.7 rebounds. Both were shooting at least 47.5 percent coming into tonight.

The Thunder’s defense as a whole at the start of the game was excellent. Utah missed a few good looks, but the Thunder hounded the Jazz into missing 15 of their first 16 shots. Utah’s second field goal didn’t come until Jefferson scored on a putback with 4:50 remaining in the opening quarter.

The first quarter was the key. The Thunder held the Jazz to 19 points on 30.8 percent shooting. It was the first time in 11 games that OKC has held an opponent to 20 points or less in the opening period. In the previous 10 games prior to Tuesday, the Thunder had allowed an average of 28.4 points and had yielded at least 30 points five times.

Said Kevin Durant: “The last few games, we had some lapses and we didn’t play as well as we wanted to. We may have gotten some wins, but we kind of squeaked those out. But tonight was Thunder basketball; defense first, hustling, rebounding, helping each other out on the defensive end and playing together. I think we got some fast-break points as well. So we got back to our brand of basketball, and it feels good to be back.”

The Thunder is 6-2 when it holds opponents to 20 points or less in the first quarter. In those six victories, the Thunder has won by an average margin of 10.4 points.

This was the largest margin of victory for the Thunder this season. The previous high was 20 points, set in a 99-79 win over Detroit on Jan. 23. And guess what? The Thunder held the Pistons to 12 first-quarter points in that ballgame.

For a while, though, the Thunder didn’t take advantage of Utah’s poor shooting like it should have. With eight minutes left in the second quarter, for example, the Thunder led 31-28 despite Utah shooting just 11-for-35. The problem? What else? The Thunder allowed the Jazz to take 11 more shots thanks to turnovers (six) and giving up offensive rebounds (six leading to eight second-chance points).

Russell Westbrook played with great pace tonight. He pushed the tempo when needed but also scaled back and tried to get others involved, too. He scored 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting with five rebounds and two assists. With a fast break dunk at the 2:53 mark of the second quarter, Westbrook joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to record at least 5,000 points, 1,900 assists and 1,300 rebounds in their first 274 games.

Said Durant of the milestone: “That’s a big-time feat. To be up there with the greats of the game is an honor. I’m sure he’s very excited. I’m happy for him. He’s done so much in this league and he has a lot to go. I’m glad I’m playing with him.”

Uh, that dunk that put Westbrook in such elite company? It came off a break led by Perk. Westbrook flushed it off an alley from the big man. That’s the second time that I can remember where Perk led the break and threw a lob-pass. He also did it in game No. 2 at Minnesota. “He’s done that a few times, and we score,” said Thunder coach Scott Brooks. “Surprisingly, at times. But Perk, he plays hard. I don’t mind him doing that occasionally. But we can’t see a daily diet of that.”

I asked Brooks if he’d consider moving Russ to the 2 and starting Perk at point. Brooks could only laugh. “Perk was nice, huh,” Brooks said.

What I liked even more than the lob pass by Perk was his ho-hum reaction. He just trotted back on D like, ‘That’s what I do.’ But he let his emotions show on the ensuing possession after he allowed Jefferson to catch an entry pass over the top and score a point-blank layup. Perk banged the ball against his head and, I’m assuming, cussed himself out under his breath. Not trying to make too much out of it. But not too many players show that amount of passion on the defensive end rather than the offensive side. It’s small. But it’s a small something that always should be considered when evaluating what Perk brings to this team.

Perk was a a passing machine tonight. He had another nice dime that came on a behind-the-back dish to Ibaka with 9:55 left in the third. For the game, Perk tied his career high with six assists. For all those who get frustrated with the Thunder throwing the ball into Perk on the low block, Brooks gave a pretty sound explanation for why he continues to allow it. “I’m doing a better job of letting him touch the ball more,” Brooks said. “Earlier in the season, he was facilitating our offense at times, whether it was at the low post and passing out or at the elbow. I thought we needed to go back to that, because when you have guys that touch the ball they feel better about themselves and they just play better basketball.”

This is hard to ignore. The Thunder’s defensive-minded center had four more assists tonight than its All-Star point guard. A lot of Westbrook detractors could and perhaps would make a big deal about that. In no way am I trying to here. But in no way do I think that’s a good thing. One more? Fine. Two more, even? OK. But four more? C’mon man! If this was one isolated game, that would be one thing. (No, Perk hasn’t tallied more assists than Westbrook before.) But we all know Westbrook’s passing game hasn’t been at the level it was last season. This was his 10th game with four assists or fewer, tonight’s tally being a season-low. I’m all for having a shoot-first point guard. But I like my point guards a whole lot more when they get everyone else involved and make others better. I’m not sure anyone can make a case that Westbrook is doing that right now.

In fairness to Westbrook, his teammates blow some of his passes. Westbrook fed Ibaka with a beautiful bounce pass in the first quarter. It was a little low, but Ibaka was wide open under the rim and all he had to do was scoop it and dunk. But of course, it trickled out of bounds. Sometimes this season, it’s been plays like that that have kept Westbrook’s assists numbers down.

Who would have thought Perk would have twice as many assists as Durant and Westbrook combined? KD had one.

After Ibaka muffed that pass, Westbrook chewed him out. And rightfully so. Still, I didn’t like it. We all know Westbrook’s temper and body language need work. But when you’re on your way to leading the league in turnovers for the third time in four seasons, it seems to me you should be careful how you react to a guy who couldn’t catch a pass. Again, Westbrook was right to get on Ibaka there. It just looked a little like Westbrook went overboard.

I don’t know what’s gotten into Ibaka lately, but he needs to keep it up. The man had 16 points, 10 boards and six blocks tonight. I’ve already noted his defense. But his energy was once again great. And when he plays like that, the Thunder’s defense is really, really tough to score on.

Said Brooks about Ibaka: “Serge was all over the floor, rebounding the ball, blocking shots. He’s getting better every game. His development is encouraging. Every day he works, and you can see the work that he puts in on the floor paying off for him.”

Durant’s hustle was outstanding tonight, too. He ripped Josh Howard clean on one possession late in the first quarter and dove on the floor in front of his bench to recover the ball. He ended up saving it to Nazr Mohammed, who got it to Westbrook, who fired it to James Harden, who got fouled and marched to the line. The crowd went nuts, showing appreciation for the face of the franchise hustling like that and doing the dirty work.

Gotta love Durant’s response when asked about diving on the floor. “I’m all about the win,” Durant said. “Because these guys will do it for me. I just want to try to do as much as I can to help out on the defensive end. That’s been my role, I think, this year is to provide a lot of defensive energy and be aggressive on the offensive end. So I’m just trying to make a conscious effort of playing hard and being a better defender and trying to be more of a two-way player.”

I didn’t cover the game at Utah last Friday. If I did, I would have noted this then. But KD got beat on four backdoors and one break in which he didn’t get back on D. Tonight, I don’t remember a single lob play or backdoor play from the Jazz. Much better effort by KD and his mates. Said KD: “They’re a tough team to guard because they screen so well and they move so much. But I think we did a great job of helping each other out.”

About midway through the first quarter, old friend Earl Watson tried to apply full-court pressure to Westbrook. After giving a few fakes like he was going to enter into a sprint, Westbrook finally turned on the jets and just blew right past Watson for a wide open layup. Watson didn’t try that again. I wondered how many times the Thunder saw that in practice three years ago.

Perk absolutely LAID OUT Devin Harris on a screen with 3:33 left in the second quarter. I actually worried for Harris’ well-being. The pick freed up Westbrook for a pull-up jumper, and as the ball splashed through the net Perk gave a fist pump while Harris was slowly trying to figure out where he was. Classic Perk.

Remember when Devin Harris was good at this game?

The last time a player scored at least 20 points with at least 20 rebounds against Utah? Nov. 13, 2010. The guy who did it? Nazr Mohammed.

Dead crowd tonight. What was up?

Brooks cleared his bench with 5:11 left to play, inserting Cole Aldrich, Reggie Jackson and Lazar Hayward. Ryan Reid made his NBA debut when he checked in with 3:51 remaining.

The crowd began filing out much earlier than that. I can’t blame the fans who took off.

As a result of the most lopsided win of the year, every active player scored for the Thunder. Reid showed some nice footwork on one of his field goals that came from underneath the basket, and Cole continues to impress.

Jackson recorded a career high with eight assists. He added four points, three rebounds and turned it over only once in 25 minutes. Not bad for a rookie backup who allegedly is the reason the Thunder can’t win it all this year, huh?

Not everything was great tonight. The Thunder went 22-for-34 (64.7 percent) from the foul line and gave up 19 offensive rebounds leading to 22 second chance points.

Just 15 turnovers. Can they please keep it about there?

Up next. At Houston on Wednesday.

-DM-

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The following comments are archived from the original publication of this post

[...] the Jazz, he accomplished something that puts him in the company of the elite-elite. As noted by Darnell Mayberry, when Westbrook scored his 10th and 11th points of the game, he joined Oscar Robertson and Magic [...]

Darnell Mayberryon Feb 16, 2012 @ 5:36 am

Well that didn't take long. Lol! -DM-

Davidon Feb 16, 2012 @ 5:34 am

I take back everything I said. RW lost the game for us tonight by getting way too emotional and trying a stupid 3. Him and Perk fouling. That guy is way overrated

Davidon Feb 15, 2012 @ 7:29 pm

For a good take on OKC's developing offense, why RW assists are down, and how it's actually better come playoff time, read this blogpost: http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/02/unassisted-scoring-how-the-thunder-get-their-points/#more-18880

Davidon Feb 15, 2012 @ 7:17 pm

So RW doesn't pass because he's immature or because he lacks leadership? This is why I hate when you bring this stuff up Darnell because everyone in Oklahoma drinks the ESPN Russell Westbrook haterade and no one seems to care about his PER, that only RW, Kobe, and Lebron have tallied averaged the at least 20 pts, 5 assists, and 5 boards a game, his exclusive company with Osar Robertson. Everyone just wants to hate, hate, hate, oh and start Maynor. It may not be maturity and leadership people. Maybe he's doing what the coaching staff asks him to do, maybe the starting lineup needs his scoring, but nope, he's an immature, young punk who will destroy the franchise. Now that that's off my chest. Darnell does make a good point, but I feel like last night was a bad example. He did have good pace and tried to get people involved, but an assist is a two way street, sometimes is an arbitrary stat, and he was pulled early in a blowout. Furthermore, in regard to the offense, if people think we haven't put in any new wrinkles or haven't developed anything new then they aren't watching the games (incidentally, I'm starting to think most people don't really watch the games). KD passes more now and will often to bring the ball up the floor late to keep it in his hands, Harden brings the ball up the floor late and will let RW be the cutter, our bigs pass to each other or pass out to 3pt shooters, we've also installed the RW/KD pick and pop game late. But go ahead, keep on telling yourself that the offense has done nothing to fix its half court woes because TNT/ESPN has said so. Or you could quit listening to Barkley and Skip Bayless and actually watch games and only read good writers like Darnell and Royce Young

bertfanon Feb 15, 2012 @ 5:15 pm

I love to watch him but totally agree that Westbrook needs to bring better passing and leadership for the Thunder to go deep in the playoffs. What's puzzling me is coach Brooks said Westbrook is a great guy and very coachable so isn't coaching to blame for not putting more emphasis on passing and team offense and pushing Westbrook to at least try? It doesn't seem like our offense has improved since last year beyound relying on late individual exploits. Is coaching all too happy to keep piling wins this way even if it means our poor offensive schemes and ball movement will not win against higher IQ teams like Dallas in the playoffs?

Tuesday Bolts – 2.15.12 | Daily Thunder.comon Feb 15, 2012 @ 4:15 pm

[...] Darnell Mayberry: “This is hard to ignore. The Thunder’s defensive-minded center had four more assists tonight than its All-Star point guard. A lot of Westbrook detractors could and perhaps would make a big deal about that. In no way am I trying to here. But in no way do I think that’s a good thing. One more? Fine. Two more, even? OK. But four more? C’mon man! If this was one isolated game, that would be one thing. (No, Perk hasn’t tallied more assists than Westbrook before.) But we all know Westbrook’s passing game hasn’t been at the level it was last season. This was his 10th game with four assists or fewer, tonight’s tally being a season-low. I’m all for having a shoot-first point guard. But I like my point guards a whole lot more when they get everyone else involved and make others better. I’m not sure anyone can make a case that Westbrook is doing that right now.” [...]

Trevoron Feb 15, 2012 @ 12:47 pm

Completely agree DM. As a point you must facilitate, period.. Unfortunately Russ doesn't have the maturity to understand this yet. I'm a big Thunder fan, but I don't think they get out of the West right now.

Darnell Mayberryon Feb 15, 2012 @ 6:49 am

David, I get that. Yes, that is part of what explains it. But to chalk up his performance this year to that and that alone, to me, is only an excuse. My point is he's now in his fourth season. He's now a two-time All-Star. He's now a max player. If not now, when exactly do the expectations increase for him? He's a fabulous player, no doubt. But for all the accolades and achievements, when Thabo Sefolosha returns we'll still be talking about the starting unit needing balance because three starters aren't offensive players. Well isn't it his job to make them bigger threats? Things are working nicely now. But this, too, is something that I can already see potentially becoming a problem in the playoffs. His assists numbers are down, and there are several reasons for that. But in my opinion, he should be at the point where he can get ample assists regardless of who he's playing with. But the larger point is, no matter what the assists line reads, he just isn't consistently making his teammates better. Many will perhaps disagree. But I can't see how they can make a case that he is. And that is much more of a problem in my eyes than his shot attempts or his assist numbers. -DM-

Willo (Australia)on Feb 15, 2012 @ 6:27 am

Cole just needs to bide his time, he will get his (prob next year). I really like watching him play and I think he is a really big talent.

Davidon Feb 15, 2012 @ 6:24 am

Darnell, you know that RW's assits have gone down dramatically since the big trade of last year. He got at least 2 assists a game from Nenad and a handful from Jeff Green. I agree that RW is at his best when he tries to facilitate early and takes over in the 4th when needed, but when Ibaka drops passes (he's getting better at this), doesn't hit the pick and pop, and Cook is cold from three, it hurts RW assist numbers. It is not a trend from this year alone. Go back and look from the trade on and you'll see the issue.

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Darnell Mayberry grew up in Langston, Okla. and is now in his third stint in the Sooner state. After a year and a half at Bishop McGuinness High, he finished his prep years in Falls Church, Va., before graduating from Norfolk State University in...